Ministry of Industry Requests US Conductor Company Solid Power to "Actively Consider Investment"

Yang Byeong-nae, Deputy Minister for Trade, Meets with Solid Power Delegation

All-solid-state battery developed by Solid Power

On the 18th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Deputy Minister for Trade Yang Byeong-nae met with a delegation of company representatives, including Derek Johnson, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Solid Power, during their visit to the ministry to discuss cooperation plans in the next-generation battery sector.

Founded in 2011, Solid Power is a U.S. company possessing leading technology in the all-solid-state battery field, often called the "battery of dreams." Recently, it signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Korean companies and public research institutes such as SK On and the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) to expand joint research and development.

The ministry plans to actively commence next-generation battery technology development, including all-solid-state batteries, by supporting 117.2 billion KRW through the "High-Performance Next-Generation Secondary Battery Technology Development Project for Eco-Friendly Mobility," which passed a preliminary feasibility study last November, aiming for completion by 2028.

During the meeting, Deputy Minister Yang listened to Solid Power's current technology status and cooperation progress with Korea, introduced the Korean government's support policies for advanced industries, and requested that Solid Power actively consider investment in Korea, a leading country in the secondary battery sector.

Deputy Minister Yang stated, "Since the state visit of the President to the U.S. in April last year, advanced industrial cooperation between Korea and the U.S. has been actively promoted," adding, "The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will spare no effort to support and promote Korea-U.S. cooperation in advanced industries such as next-generation batteries."

Meanwhile, on the 10th (local time), SK On signed a technology transfer agreement with Solid Power at the Las Vegas Convention Center in the U.S. Under the agreement, SK On will be able to utilize all of Solid Power's technology related to all-solid-state battery cell design and pilot line processes for research and development. Solid Power will supply sulfide-based solid electrolytes to SK On and assist in developing all-solid-state batteries with excellent stability and performance.

Through this, SK On plans to establish a pilot line for all-solid-state batteries at its Daejeon Battery Research Institute by 2025. The pilot line is a test production facility preceding full-scale mass production.

In 2021, SK On invested 30 million USD (approximately 40 billion KRW) in Solid Power and agreed to jointly develop next-generation all-solid-state batteries. Since then, the two companies have been discussing specific cooperation plans.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.